


Nemesis

by Fififjonka



Category: Crossing Lines
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-19
Updated: 2015-09-04
Packaged: 2018-04-05 04:15:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4165425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fififjonka/pseuds/Fififjonka
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A mysterious, dangerous woman meets Sebastian alone in a bar and leaving with her turns out to be the worst mistake of his life. Tommy and Eva have just had their first night together when they find out what happened. Tommy/Eva, Sebastian/OC. Read and review! :)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bar

The loud noise was hovering above the street, getting louder every time somebody opened the door. Neon lights above the door were glimmering in the dark Saturday night, reflecting in the rain puddles on the pavement. _Angel_ was one of the clubs where the music roars and nobody would mind, the dance floor crowded with people and the air thick of cigarette smoke. Also it had nothing to do with its name; the only thing it might evoke would be _shithole_. 

A tall, dark-haired woman was sitting at a small rounded table near the dance floor, smoking a cigarette. She was alone and paid no attention to anything but a man sitting on the opposite side of the club, at the bar. Her lips curled into a small smile. She had been watching him for some time, her eyes never shifting away.

It was definitely him... The description was precise…

A young girl serving at the bar shot him several flirty looks, obviously trying to start conversation but judging by her expression she was ignored.

The woman smiled with amusement. Amateur…

She took a sip of her _white death_ , a ridiculously named cocktail invention of Angel barmen, and watched a woman who had been sitting next to her object of interest leaving her bar chair.

“Very well…” she muttered. She puffed on her cigarette and put it out, getting up. Smoothing her short black dress, she started walking to the bar, the clapping of her high heels unheard in the roar of music.  

“If I were the girl, I would dash my drink on your head.”

He turned at her with curiosity.

“I beg your pardon?”

She sat down next to him. She was a woman well aware of her attractiveness and she knew how to sell it. His eyes she felt on her were a proof it worked again.

“Yet another who tries to drink out of his misery,” she continued, not paying attention to his remark.

“It’s funny, don’t you think? When someone wants to be alone with his pain and goes to the worst club in the city to drink overpriced cocktails served by a barman who’s obviously wearing make-up.”

The barman shot her a glare and she rewarded him with a benevolent wink.

“What are _you_ doing at a place like that then?” the man asked, his voice cold but underneath it she could sense amusement.

“Entertainment,” she said. “I enjoy watching the people here. Looking at all the wrecks makes me feel better about myself.”

“That sounds cruel,” he said.

“I am cruel,” she said, pleased. She looked him in the eyes, giving him a small provocative smile. Despite he had seemed rather depressed before, he returned the smile.  

_I am crueller than you can imagine…_

“I’m Nina.”

“Sebastian.”

They shook hands and Nina titled her head on side.

“I’ve always liked German accent. Makes English sound softer.”

He smirked and ordered her a drink. Nina thanked, calculating in her mind. A handsome man with cold demeanour – so typical for a German. Attractive but withdrawn. Had it been a better timing, he would have most probably been more talkative, but considering the recent circumstances…

Well, she had never considered that a problem, you just needed to know how to play along. Nobody said she could not have some fun with him.

“I’ve never seen you here before,” she said. “That’s a shame.”

“I am on my holidays,” Sebastian said and Nina chuckled.

“And you surely know how to enjoy it,” she remarked and he smirked bitterly, sipping his awful cocktail.

“I can show you…” she said silently, leaning forward and whispering to his ear. Trying to hide his discomfiture, he laughed briefly and gave her a look. He had soft blue eyes Nina liked.

_Too bad I will have to put out their light._

“I’m sorry but I took only enough money for drinks,” he said and Nina raised an eyebrow.

“What? You think I’m a whore?”

She laughed heartily at his embarrassed expression.

“And I thought I was cruel,” she said and shook her head, amused.

“I apologize,” he said, evidently relaxing after her light reaction. He ordered another couple of drinks, the alcohol encouraging him to speak more. Smiling inside, Nina glanced at the clock, showing a few minutes after 3 am. It was time to do the job.

“Perhaps we can go somewhere else,” she suggested. “This place gets really disgusting after 3 am and I’ve had enough entertainment of this kind… It’s time for something better…”

He was hesitating but Nina noticed his eyes hardening as he stood up and finished his drink. They walked outside where the rain had started pouring again and Sebastian called a cab. Nina got in the car, checking her handbag. She had always preferred scalpels over knives. They were smaller and sharper. The touch of the cold steel calmed her down.

_I am sorry, Sebastian._

* * *

 

There was nothing better than waking up in the smell of eggs and bacon. Tommy rolled over in his bed and squinted at the ceiling. One of his hobbies would be sleeping long in the morning bur rarely could he do it. That Saturday morning was a pleasant exception, intensified by the singing coming from the kitchen.

He should probably start learning Italian, he thought. Never before had he liked it more than that morning. He did not hurry to get out of the bed and stayed for a couple more minutes, savouring the moment.

“Breakfast!”

Tommy grinned. He had a brief feeling that he was on a Mediterranean holiday trip, despite the gloomy greyish daylight protruding through the curtains. When he did not respond, fast steps started approaching the bedroom. Eva appeared in the door, wearing nothing but lacy panties and his unbuttoned white shirt. Unwillingly, Tommy’s eyebrows went up. Deep in his mind he wondered if he had ever seen anything sexier.

“You think I’m going to serve it to your bed?” she asked. Her hair was a bit messy and Tommy adored the look.

“I was kind of hoping for it,” he said. Eva pouted at him and Tommy jumped up, grabbing her around the waist and pulling her to the bed. Eva surprised him with an impressive manoeuvre and slipped under his arm, letting him fall on his back.

“Hey, that was good,” he muttered and Eva rose, putting her arms on her hips.

“Never underestimate an Italian,” she said in a grave tone and Tommy shook his head.

“You shouldn’t underestimate an Irish,” he fought back but Eva just smiled at him with amusement.

“I would beat your ass anytime,” she said silently and Tommy – while admiring how sexy the word _ass_ sounded spoken by her – stood up, stretching his arms.

“Come at me. I’m all yours.”

To mark his words Tommy demonstrated a bit of provocative dancing.

“Oh…”

Right at the moment a chambermaid materialized in the opened bedroom door, her eyes wide. With a particularly unpleasant feeling Tommy realized he was wearing nothing but his dignity – and with that it was currently rather poor.

“I’m so sorry,” she stuttered. “The door was open, I was calling for you and heard voices and thought you said _come in_ , I’m so sorry…”

With that she disappeared like smoke and Tommy glared at Eva, the redhead leaning against the door in a burst of laughter.

“Revenge is mine…” Tommy muttered and Eva’s laugh transformed to chuckle.

“That should teach you,” she said, pointing a finger at him.

“Now to the kitchen,” Eva ordered and smirking, Tommy started putting on some clothes. A little taming seemed necessary, he thought, but for now…

The table was set a bit carelessly but the breakfast definitely made up for it.

“I wanted to cook something typically English,” Eva explained. “When we are in London…”

“Looks fantastic,” Tommy said, sitting down, “but absolutely not English.”

“I improved it a little,” Eva admitted and gave him a look. “Sorry, but English cuisine is so awful.”

Tommy laughed. The clash of English and Italian cuisines. The tone of her voice was speaking about the great difficulties she had with understanding how anyone could like something so awful like typical English breakfast. He looked at her with serious expression.

“I understand,” he said and took the fork. He could not remember a time in the last five or more years he would feel happier. If he could watch himself from someone else’s point of view, he would claim this was not him at all. Well, he believed it would pass soon but decided not to care.

After eating Eva’s wonderful creation they moved back to the bedroom but Tommy closed and locked the door that time, to which Eva reacted with: “Are you going to dance again?”

Tommy ignored her, lying next to her. He frowned as he felt something under the pillow.

“Oh…”

It was his phone. He turned the volume off yesterday at night. He was on holiday, after all, and did not want anything to interfere into their first night together with Eva.

“I have three missed calls,” he said with tension in his voice. “From Sebastian.”

“Sebastian?”

Eva frowned as well. Right at the moment Tommy’s phone started ringing again. It was not Sebastian’s number though, but Hickman’s. He answered it with vague feeling of threat.

“Yes?”

“This is Hickman,” his boss said with stern voice. “I have bed news. There’s been a murder.”


	2. Escape

The white sheets were soaked in blood and blood was on the bedside table and on the soft green carpet on the floor. The air in the room was thick, filled with ferric odour of clotted blood.

In the bed, spread over the stained mattress, a woman was lying head down. She was naked and her body was covered in cuts. Tommy was used to all kinds of brutality or violence but nevertheless even he was stricken by the murder scene.

“Nina Galesco, 27 years old, her address is in Paris, though. We are currently seeking information about her family.”

“Somebody slit her throat,” Tommy grunted inaudibly.

“The murder weapon, I presume,” he added, pointing at a small, bloodied scalpel lying on the carpet.

“We must analyse before any statement, but it appears so,” Hickman said.

“Who found her?” Eva asked.

“The chambermaid – at eight a.m. in the morning. The receptionist says she saw her come back to the hotel early in the morning, sometime after three. She came with a man and he was not a guest.”

“I guess we don’t know anything about this man,” Tommy said and looked up at Hickman. His boss’ face was as impassive as ever and he let that without an answer. The other man standing beside him, inspector Moore of the London Police Department, shook his head.

“Nobody saw him except the receptionist.”

“He evidently escaped through the balcony window,” Eva noted, walking over the opened window and looking down on the street. The room was on the fourth floor and there was no emergency ladder on the wall. He must have had quite good physical condition to climb it down.

“Do we have any description?” Tommy asked. Moore opened his notebook and cited: “In his thirties, dark blond hair, tall, average weight. According to the receptionist he was _handsome_.”

Moore said the last word with an obvious attempt to reproduce the receptionist’s tone.

“So we can eliminate those ugly,” Tommy muttered.

“Nina asked the receptionist to say – in case someone would be asking for her – she was not there. He and Nina appeared friendly – joking, laughing…”

“Yeah, until he cut her throat,” Tommy said. He looked over the room again and approached the bed with the dead woman. Albeit her face was covered in blood, he could see she had been very attractive. He used to feel horrified when witnessing such massacre but somehow he had been getting more used to it. It all seemed clear – another Lover’s work, a serial killer they had been chasing for more than a year. Tommy had to admit the nickname was not very creative but it served the purpose. A young, attractive woman, murdered in a hotel room by a man she had met and taken in. The cause of death – bleeding out from a deep neck wound. Special characteristics – body spread, lying on the stomach, naked. And one more thing…

Tommy looked up at Hickman, his boss returning the look with his eyes hard.

“Did he…?”

“Yes,” Hickman said and Tommy nodded once. So he cut her tongue out. It all seemed so typical and yet… Tommy could not say exactly what it was he found odd this time. Perhaps the fact they had all been on holiday in London and the killer decided to murder someone there as well? Could have been a coincidence, though.

“And the number?”

“We’ve looked, there’s nothing there,” Hickman said and Tommy frowned. That was weird. Lover would carve a number on the left palm of his victims. They had not known yet what the number could mean, they varied from hundreds to one or two and they certainly hoped it was not the number of his victims.

“Maybe somebody disturbed him,” Eva suggested and Tommy shook his head.

“It seems he had plenty of time to do that, they say she’s dead at least six hours and the chambermaid found her an hour ago. Wait a minute…”

He noticed something under the bed and bowed, narrowing his eyes.

“There’s something there… Like a card…”

Moore studied it closely.

“It’s most probably a club card. There are some clubs that use it. It’s like a ticket.”

One of the policemen took a few close-ups.

“ _Angel…_ We’ll try to find out which club it is. It shouldn’t take long.”

“There’s yesterday date on the card,” Eva said.

“Someone should remember her,” Tommy said, hoping someone in the club noticed the man accompanying her as well.

“The receptionist also said there was a young girl around midnight, asking for Nina. She left after she’d found out Nina was gone and did not return.”

“And her description?”

Moore looked down to his notebook again.

“About twenty, brunette, shoulder-length hair, slim. Rather short. Wearing jeans and black leather jacket. She didn’t give any name.”

Tommy slowly nodded.

“I think Sebastian should see this,” he said. “Why isn’t he here?”

“We couldn’t reach him,” Hickman said and Tommy pulled out his phone, calling Sebastian’s number. He froze where he stood at the moment. In an answer to his call, a phone melody could be heard in the room. Tommy widened his eyes and Hickman met his look.

“I think,” Hickman said quietly, “we know who the man accompanying her was.”

* * *

 

Lena was sitting in the car with lights turned off. She was motionless, her left hand lying on a small handgun placed on her thigh. She had obtained the gun only a few days ago, she could still remember the terrible fear she had felt when facing the dealer.  

_“What could a girl like you need a gun for?” he said, his tone mocking._

But it was a deal. Albeit Lena was not sure she would even be able to use it if she had to.

She gritted her teeth, clenching her hands into fists.

_Why? Why did you have to leave? You are the older one, you should have known better…_

Lena took a breath and narrowed her eyes, not moving them away from the hotel, her trembling fingers once again on the gun. The pavement she was parking at was close enough for her to see every guest coming in or out the building. All young, mostly drunk people, enjoying themselves. All of them just like Nina…

Twice she saw a bigger group of people but she did not have a clear view at everyone. She had to go to the reception but they told her Nina was not there.

Once she saw a young pair and the woman was looking similar but she was not Nina either.

But she was supposed to be there… If she were somewhere else, Lena was wasting her time. She would be useless.

No, it was this hotel, she knew it!

Lena’s heart was beating fast. She rubbed her eyes, glancing at the time on the car radio: 04:55.

The morning was upon her and she saw nothing.

“Damn it!”

Grabbing the door handle Lana started getting up, decided to go ask for her again, when she froze, her eyes staring at one of the hotel windows. Her mouth opened slowly and she felt her pulse rushing. Someone was climbing down the wall, over the balconies.

Her heart raced. It was a man…? Her shaky, sweating fingers automatically wrapped around the gun. She slipped out of the car and ran silently towards the hotel. She could not think clearly, doing all she could to silence the reason and worry, screaming at her from her head.

Brave… Be brave…

Her soft soles made no sound on the concrete and she crossed the parking lot and hid behind a bush, clutching the gun in her hand. She was breathing heavily. Sweat drops were trickling down her forehead and neck. The dull sound announced the man landed on the pavement. Lena peeked through the branches. He got up and quickly looked around, hurrying right to the bush she was hiding in.

Ignoring the panicky spasm, she closed her eyes for a second, feeling the cold metal in her hands.

“Don’t move.”

She could not even recognize her own voice. It was quiet like the growling of a big cat. The man stopped when the gun muzzle touched his temple.

“Go.”

Lena pointed at the pavement.

“Hurry.”

She led him to her car, forcing him to sit on the passenger’s seat while she sat down behind the wheel. She did not move the gun away from him but she looked into his face, still doing her best to fight the fear building up in her chest. He seemed distraught, she could see it in his eyes, but there was a darker tone in them, it reminded her of an animal in danger.

_What have you done, Lena?_

A voice at the back of her head screamed. She gulped and lowered her look.  

Was that… blood…

She gasped silently.

“You –“

The short moment of inattention was enough. The man moved forward in a split second, before she could even blink, grabbing the gun and tearing it from her hand, turning it over. Lena’s eyes widened slightly when she was looking into the black muzzle of her own gun.

“Who are you?” the man asked, his voice was rough and cold.

Lena lifted her eyes to him.

“You killed her,” she whispered, feeling her heart twisting in ache. So she was late after all…

“You killed her…” she repeated louder. “You bastard, you murdered her!”

She grunted, throwing herself at him, trying to hit him, hurt him in any way she could. But he was stronger and caught her arm, twisting it painfully and Lena yelped. She breathed in deeply, ready to scream.

“Help –”

He put a hand over her mouth and silenced her. Lena wanted to bite him but he shook her.

“Stop it,” he ordered. “And drive away _. Now_.”

The gun muzzle was still pointed at her. Lena turned the key in the ignition and drove along the pavement, although she could not see through the tears filling her eyes. In the distance she could hear someone crying and gasping for air.

He forced her to drive on a remote backyard and told her to turn off the engine. Lena closed her eyes and hid her face in the hands. So she was going to die, like Nina. By the same hands…

“I didn’t kill her.”

Lena shot him a quick look. The gun was resting on his knee.

“I didn’t kill her,” he repeated. Lena shook her head, her eyes roving over him, looking for any sign of lies.

“You have her blood on your hands,” she said, her voice trembling.

He moved closer to her and Lena backed off, hitting the door with her back.

“I didn’t kill her,” he said and his voice was urgent, almost desperate.

“I woke up and she was lying there dead. But I didn’t do it, I didn’t even know her!”

He withdrew and hit the dashboard with his fist, making Lena jump up. He ran a hand over his face then, rubbing his eyes and breathing heavily. But all Lena could see was the blood on his hands. Her sister’s blood, Nina’s blood.

_My sister…_

Lena took a picture out of her pocket, shoving it into his face.

“This is the woman you murdered,” she growled, the photo shaking in her fingers.

“Look!”

She had always liked the picture. It was taken on a weekend trip to Italy, right in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Such a classic shot.

“ _Everybody should have a picture of them in front of the Leaning Tower,” Nina said, laughing as she explained to the tourist taking the shot._

The trip was her present for Lena’s twentieth birthday. It was the best birthday she had ever had.

The man stared at the picture intently, his eyebrows furrowed. Lena felt the wave of anger and hate washing over her again. She would put a bullet through his brain, even if that was the last thing she would do. She moved forward, taking the gun from his hand.

He deflected her hand. She wanted to hit his face. He pinned her against the seat, his fingers wrapped firmly around her wrist.

“I have never seen her,” he said with eyes only an inch away from her face. She could see her own frightened face in the blue orbs.

“What?” she managed to say.

“I haven’t seen her,” he said quietly. “That’s not the woman I met in the club.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one, hope you like and drop a comment please, so I know what you think :)


	3. Lena's Story

Joe’s Buffet had probably the worst sandwiches Lena had ever had. She was sitting in her car, eating slowly, her eyes not leaving his face.

His name was Sebastian.

He kept staring out of the window saying nothing. Lena herself was deep in thoughts, only slightly disrupted by the nasty taste of the sandwich.

Was he telling the truth? His story was so fantastic it almost could not be a lie. But if the woman was not Nina, who was she then? Was Nina alive? But where was she?

Lena rubbed her eyes, ignoring the headache taking over.

“Have some,” she said, giving him the other sandwich. “Tastes like shit, though.”

Sebastian looked at the sandwich and back at her. Lena put it on his leg and merely continued chewing. She felt strangely empty. Only a few hours ago she could not see through her tears and now she was sitting there thinking about how old the cucumber in the sandwich might be.

“You look familiar.”

Lena stopped chewing, turning at him.

“Guess you saw me,” she said. “My fifteen minutes. The stupid whitening toothpaste ad.”

She tried to reconstruct the grin. Recognition flashed in Sebastian’s eyes.

“I know my teeth aren’t white like that,” Lena said. “They haven’t ever been. My dad worked for the agency, got me the job. There’s nothing Photoshop wouldn’t do.”

Lena rumpled the sandwich package and closed her eyes. She assumed the emotional strain made her feel a little light-headed. She tried to calm down, taking deep breaths. 

“Tell me exactly what happened,” she said calmly. “And I’ll tell you what I know.”

It took him a few more minutes to start speaking. His voice was flat and disinterested like a bored broadcaster, the hollow tone of his voice lessening the foreign accent Lena had heard previously.

“I was sitting at the bar, alone. She came and sat down next to me. I can tell when somebody is trying to pick me up like she did. We talked for some time and then she invited me to her hotel room. We took a taxi.”

He paused, still looking out of the window.

“She brought some bourbon. My next memory is me lying next to a dead woman with a scalpel in my hand.”

Lena shook her head. Why would a murderer make up such a stupid story? If he really killed her, why not to finish Lena off as well and just keep going? Why would he sit in her car staring?

“This is ridiculous!” he blurted. “I’m a fucking detective!”

Lena turned after him. Detective? Could it get any weirder?

“What was she having?”

“I’m sorry?”

“What drink did she have at the bar?”

“Martini.”

So he was telling the truth.

“Nina hated cocktails. Especially martini. I’ve always wondered why she didn’t like these.”

She paused.

“I love mojito,” she uttered. Mojito… Sand beach bathing in sunset. Creaking of plastic sunbeds. Will’s tanned face with peeling nose. Nina’s laughter…

“Somebody framed me,” Sebastian said to himself. “Who? Why?”

He gave the dashboard another punch.

“Hey!” Lena said. “It’s my car!”

He turned at her quickly and the rest of Lena’s words died on her lips.

“Now it’s your time,” he said. “Tell me everything.”

Lena shook her head.

“Nina was – is my older sister. We used to be in touch much more but Nina is…, well, she was…”

Lena stopped and took a breath. Surprised Sebastian did not try to prod her into speaking she continued.

“She loves travelling and she was always somewhere around the world. Six months ago she came back to London and we spent some time together.”

“Why was she at the hotel? Why didn’t she stay with you?” Sebastian asked.

“I live in lodgings and with two more people,” Lena explained. “And after a month or so she told me she thought somebody was following her. Sometimes she would see a shadow, sometimes a tall figure disappearing, never too close to be seen clearly. She thought she was making things up and was merely paranoid but I know my sister and from all the things she _is_ , paranoid is not one of them.

Nina dismissed it soon but I wasn’t that optimistic so I… kind of started following her too.”

Lena caught the glimpse of amusement in Sebastian’s eyes but continued.

“And I have seen someone too. You know, I think I should tell you I’m quite _the news watcher_. I know about the murders of the young women and I know they were all very similar to Nina. Tall, slim, dark-haired… So I went to the police but they neither believed me nor did anything.”

Lena shook her head, fighting her anger.

“They should have done something but they kept repeating a _mysterious figure you have seen twice is not enough_. I wanted to do something on my own then, I tried to warn Nina but she wouldn’t listen and thought I was paranoid as well. This was her last night in London, she was leaving to Colorado today so I thought this man would want to strike here than travel to America…”

Lena looked down at the gun still resting on Sebastian’s right thigh.

“So I got myself a gun and wanted to protect her but I’ve lost her. She wouldn’t pick up the phone so I waited by the hotel. The receptionist told me she’d been out. But I’d been there the whole afternoon and then the whole night and I didn’t see her come back.”

She looked at Sebastian.

“Believe me I’d have seen her.” So who’s the woman in the apartment? If it was somebody else, where’s Nina? And why would anyone pretend she’s her? Did somebody kidnap my sister?”

Sebastian remained silent, his face darkened, the red neon light of the non-stop on the street reflecting in his eyes. He seemed hesitating to speak.

“I… I cannot say I’ve seen the dead woman’s face clearly,” he said eventually. Lena jumped up.

“So it didn’t have to be Nina!”

But Sebastian’s face was stern.

“No,” he said. “I’m afraid…”

“What?”

Lena looked him in the eyes. He sighed heavily.

“I think it _was_ her,” he said and his words echoed in Lena’s head. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After a longer hiatus another take. Thanks for reading, hope you liked and please - I know CL doesn't have much of a fanbase but drop a comment! Thanks!

**Author's Note:**

> OK, that was the first one, hope you like and please comment. Thanks!


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